The Arabs are a Semitic people from south-western Asia. A number of Semitic peoples and civilizations have flourished in this region over a period of several thousand years. Various groups such as the Canaanites, the Arameans and the Akkadians built their cities in Mesopotamia, the Levant and the northern Arabian Peninsula. They have migrated here and there and have interbred. At various times, many of their people either came from what is now northern Saudi Arabia and nearby areas or later settled there. For example, the Akkadians, who set up an empire in central Mesopotamia which peaked in the 22nd to 24th centuries BCE, had originally migrated from the Arabian Peninsula.

The first known reference to the word “Arab” came in 853 BCE when an Assyrian scribe told of how the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III defeated king Gindibu at the Battle of Karkar in that year. The beaten king was said to have come from “matu arbai”, which means Arab land. Gindibu was one of a coalition of 12 kings and their forces, and the Assyrian king was eventually defeated by them. Some of the names of those who fought in this battle are tied to proto-Arabic dialects. Words such as Arabi, Arubu and Aribi soon appeared in Assyrian writings, while the Hebrew Bible refers to the Arvi people. All these words mean Arab or Arabian and probably referred to the desert tribes of Semitic peoples in northern Arabia and Syria.

Evidence of the emergence of the Arabs in northern Arabia is found in a number of texts and inscriptions from the 8th century BCE onwards. Several language or cultural groups of Arabs evolved and lived in northern Arabia and nearby areas, a region known for its busy trading routes and high migration. The Lihyan people lived in north-western Arabia until about 400 BCE. The Thamudic people (not to be confused with the Thamuds of southern Arabia) lived in northern parts of Arabia and the Sinai from around this time until the 3rd or 4th century CE. Meanwhile, the Hasaitic people lived in eastern Arabia in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BCE. The Safaitic people lived in north-western and north central Arabia as well as nearby areas in Syria and Jordan from about the 1st century BCE to the 4th century CE.

Another Arab group, the Nabataeans, lived in southern Jordan and northern Arabia from about 300 BCE, establishing a trade network in a region where the Edomites had previously lived for centuries. They had agriculture, permanent dwellings and made wine. Trajan annexed the Nabataean Kingdom to Rome around 107 CE, and in the 4th century they converted to Christianity. The Qahtanite Arabs from southern Arabia and Yemen, where there was far less migration and intermixing than in the north, took over the remnants of the kingdom and the land was divided among the Arab kingdoms of the Byzantines, Ghassanids, Himyarites and Kindahs.

Many historians put the Arabs into three broad groups around this time: the ‘perishing Arabs’, which include various tribes who disappeared through invasion, assimilation or decadence; ‘pure Arabs,’ who were the Qahtanites; and their rivals, the ‘Arabized Arabs,’ who were the Adnani Arabs of the northern, central and western parts of the peninsula and descended from Adnan. Whether the Adnani were Arabized or the original Arabs is contentious. Many scholars consider them as the original Arabs, who included the nomadic Bedouin who had lived in the area from time immemorial. According to Muhammad, his ancestor Ishmael, who is the son of Abraham and an ancestor of Adnan, was the first to speak Arabic.

The Qahtanites were supposedly descended from Qahtan, who is thought to be the biblical Joktan, a descendant of Shem, who is an ancestor of Abraham. This would mean the two Arab groups are related. The Qahanites consist of two subgroups: the Himyar and the Kahlan. The various nomadic Kahlan tribes were forced out by the settled and stronger Himyar tribes and migrated to Mesopotamia and Syria in the 3rd century CE. The Himyarite Kingdom dates from 110 BCE and was the dominant group in Arabia until 525 CE. It was an agricultural society with strong trade links with eastern Africa and the Mediterranean, mainly the Roman Empire. However, the strength of Nabataean trade, Roman superiority and intertribal fighting led to disunity and decline. In the 5th century, a number of its kings converted to Judaism and by the 6th and 7th centuries, the religion flourished in Himyar.

In 613 CE, merchant, shepherd and prophet Muhammad from the Arabian city of Mecca started teaching his revelations from God, but was met with hostility. He moved to Medina in 622 and united the tribes. His followers grew to 10,000 and conquered Mecca in 630. By the time of his death in 632, he had united the warring Arab tribes, and most of the peninsula had converted to Islam. In the following century, the Arabs took their message well beyond Arabia, expanding by a series of Islamic conquests to create a vast Muslim Empire that extended from western India to the Iberian Peninsula, and included central Asia, the Middle East and northern Africa.

Today, the Arabs and their influence have extended around the world. Arabian is the official language of Saudi Arabia and several other Middle Eastern countries and much of northern Africa. It is one of the official languages of Iraq and several countries in northern and eastern Africa. Millions of Arabs live in countries such as Brazil, France, Argentina, Iran and the US.

Here is the last of four articles on Islam I wrote some time ago and published to the Helium writing site (now gone). Islam is a religion of peace and it seems that the views and actions of the terrorists are the complete opposite of this. I’m an atheist, by the way. I should perhaps also add here that I’m a non-drinker …

Drinking alcohol is forbidden by Islam because of the damage it can and does cause. From the early days of Islam, Muslims have abstained from alcohol. Muhammad was opposed to alcohol and there are a number of verses in the Quran warning of the dangers. The word “alcohol” actually comes from the Arabic language. Al-kohl means fermented sugars, fruits or grains that produce an intoxicating drink. The drink itself is called khamr.

Alcohol was readily available in pre-Islamic Arabia, and khmar bars and shops were open 24 hours a day. Arabic society featured tribal fighting, tribal laws, murder, cruelty, exploitation, theft, adultery, prostitution, women treated like slaves, neglected children, and broken homes, while the menfolk were excessively proud, competitive and ruthless. These factors were associated with and often made worse by heavy drinking. Muhammad’s reforms and the Quran helped to change this situation. He told his followers to avoid intoxicating substances: “If it intoxicates in a large amount, it is forbidden even in a small amount.” He also said: “Prayer is the pillage of religion. The one who performs it has erected religion and the one who abandons it has ruined (his) religion.”

One of the early Quranic verses on alcohol said: “And from the fruit of the date-palm and the vine ye get out wholesome drink and food: behold in this also is a sign for those who are wise.” (16:67) This caused some Muslims to wonder if drinking khamr was right. Another early verse said: “They ask thee concerning wine and gambling, say: In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit …” (2:219). This led to a further reduction in drinking. A third mention of alcohol said: “O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say …” (4:43). Muslims pray five times daily and prayers are spread throughout the day, so it became impossible to drink much alcohol and adhere to their faith.

Another verse was soon added: “The devil wants only to cast among you enmity and hatred by means of strong drink and games of chance and to turn you from remembering Allah and from prayer. Will you then desist?” (5:90-91) This verse was the turning point that resulted in total prohibition, and Muslims poured their wine into the streets. Prohibition helped turn a lawless society into a safe and caring one. Mohammad ensured that divine law overrode customary law, women and children were given rights, infanticide was outlawed, a system of law and order was put in place, religious freedoms were granted, aristocratic privilege was denounced, and family values were put in place. Alcohol was no longer needed to try and be happy or relieve stress or drown sorrows in a caring society.

Alcohol affects every part of the body, every organ, since it enters the bloodstream and thereby circulates throughout the body. It is a depressant, slowing down the nervous system. It goes to the stomach, into the blood and to the liver where it turns into acetaldehyde, which is a poison that can damage the brain. A hangover is the effect of acetaldehyde poisoning. With alcohol, we get less nutrition from food as we are less able to absorb nutrients. Alcohol accelerates the aging process. It makes us look older too, with facial features deteriorating quicker.

The risk of cancer of the liver increases with alcohol. The liver processes toxic substances in our body and works overtime in heavy drinkers. Alcohol increases fatty liver and can lead to more serious conditions such as alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. US research found that 10-35% of heavy drinkers end up with alcoholic hepatitis and 10-20% get cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis can also occur in moderate drinkers. In a New York study, people drinking moderate to heavy amounts of alcohol increased their liver fat by an average of 8% in 18 days. If you’re burning alcohol, you’re not burning fat. An increase in liver fat can lead to cirrhosis. Further, alcohol can increase the chances of a cancer causing enzyme occurring in the liver by 5-10 times. Alcohol can cause others cancers, especially in the upper digestive tract.

Heavy drinking by women can cause periods to stop or become irregular, and there is a greater risk of miscarriage. A study showed that menstrual cycle problems can even be present in women who consume three drinks a day for three weeks. Another study found an 11% increase in breast cancer for women consuming just one drink a day. Alcohol can result in a loss of calcium in bones, and osteoporosis can occur, especially in women. Heavy drinking can affect an unborn baby, including physical abnormalities, slower growth and delayed development. Fetal alcohol syndrome can result in a child suffering mental retardation, poor concentration, microcephaly, poor teeth, epicanthus, heart valve lesions, and restricted joint movement.

Alcohol can affect reproductive hormones. A four week study showed that heavy drinking reduces testosterone levels after five days, and they kept falling over the four weeks. Long-term deficiency can lead to male breast enlargement. A Finnish study found that males who drank 13-25 drinks a week had a fourfold increase in likelihood of stroke. Alcohol can cause high blood pressure and heart failure. It is estimated that high blood pressure in 11% of males and in 6% of females is attributed to alcohol. Heavy drinking clogs the arteries, and the heart becomes larger as it loses its elasticity and suffers a build up of fat.

Mental health can be affected by alcohol, including psychosis, dementia, depression and anxiety. Brain shrinkage can occur and it seems to happen in that part of the brain associated with intellectual capacity. US studies show that young binge drinkers and women are particularly affected in this regard. People who drink rather than eat can suffer low vitamin B (thiamin), which can lead to a form of brain damage called Korsakoff’s syndrome with its memory loss, apathy and confusion.

The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that “alcohol is typically found in the offender, victim or both in about half of all homicides and serious assaults, as well as in a high percentage of sex-related crimes, robberies, and incidents of domestic violence, and alcohol-related problems are disproportionately found among juvenile and adult criminal offenders”. Alcohol is a major cause of road and other accidents, often causing death and injury. It directly or indirectly causes an estimated 100,000 deaths in the US a year, and over six million kids under 18 have an alcoholic parent. Alcohol abuse also contributes to absenteeism and lost production. It can lead to unsafe sex, resulting in possible disease and unwanted pregnancies.

Some wine surveys conclude that people who drink 1-2 glasses a day are healthier than those who abstain. What they don’t tell us is that the group who abstains includes people who chose not to drink because they are less robust and have less tolerance to alcohol in any case. In other words, take the alcohol out of the equation and the 1-2 glasses a day people are healthier to start with. Muslims would regard that even if 1-2 glasses is okay, the damage done by alcohol, especially in the long term, exceeds any benefit.

A US study estimated the cost of alcohol abuse to be $167 billion in 1995, which exceeded the estimated cost of illegal drug use of $110 billion. Allowing for inflation and population increase, alcohol abuse is probably now costing the US well over $200 billion a year.

It’s no wonder Islam prohibits alcohol. It is also easy to see why the prohibition movement in Western societies was quite strong in the early twentieth century. If legislators could have their time again, alcohol might never have been legalized, but perhaps grouped with other illegal drugs.

Here is the third of four articles on Islam I wrote some time ago and published to the Helium writing site (now gone). Islam is a religion of peace and it seems that the views and actions of the terrorists are the complete opposite of this. I’m an atheist, by the way …

Quranic, or Islamic, calligraphy is a special form of artistic writing using the Arabic script. Calligraphy took on prominence in Islamic societies because pictures of people and animals can contravene the belief that the work of God is superior, and these images are not usually used in decorative art. Calligraphy therefore became a respected art form and can dominate mosque walls and furniture, tombs and many household items.

Islamic calligraphy was written on parchment or papyrus with a quill from the seventh century, and was used in making copies of the Quran. Kufic was the first script used as a Quran script and spread throughout the Islamic world. It is an angular, self-assured script with clear contours, and looks imposing even as small text. Before the invention of printing, calligraphy studios were set up to write copies of the Quran on parchment. Here, inscriptions were also designed and chiseled into stone ready for placing on buildings. Calligraphy also featured on coins. From 692 CE, pictures on coins were replaced by words, usually from the Quran.

Working in Kufic became an art form that was said to take years to master. Several styles developed, including a sloping Persian script used to weave elaborate inscriptions on silk textiles. These were valued possessions and the Crusaders took them to Europe. Another script style developed in Spain and northern Africa which became the Maghrabi script.

When paper was introduced from China in the eighth century, Islamic calligraphers kept using parchment for the Quran as it was hardier and more prestigious. But paper became the material used for many other books and soon Muslim libraries boasted thousands of volumes of beautifully written documents. Paper quality improved and it was used to copy the Quran by the 12th century, when the Nashki, Muhaqqaq and Raihani scripts replaced Kufic. Nashki, a flowing cursive script with round letters and thinner lines, is the script commonly used today in Arabic printed material and is the script taught at school.

Early calligraphers were dedicated professionals who often wrote sitting on the floor, with paper resting on a piece of cardboard across their knees. A skilled calligrapher would learn to write with his non-preferred hand if his other hand was injured in battle or from punishment. There are even cases of calligraphers practicing their art using their mouths or feet. Children were taken on in apprenticeship-type roles from a young age to become calligraphers.

Numerous masterpieces were produced and traded, and they became valuable collectors’ pieces. Calligraphy also appeared on the walls and ceilings of mosques and palaces as well as on pottery, glass, stone, wood, metalwork and textiles. Islamic calligraphy is regarded as having reached its highest quality in Ottoman Turkey. It has been said that “the Quran was revealed in Mecca, recited in Egypt, and written in Istanbul”. One of the scripts developed in Turkey was Diwani, a graceful and decorative script with slanting flourishes, though not as easy to read. It was used in government documents. The script spread to Arab countries where it is used today in formal documents.

Many other imaginative styles have been developed by Islamic calligraphers. One is the Tuhgra, used in Turkey and Arab countries as a royal insignia, and on coins and stamps. Another is Muthanna, which takes a script such as Naskhi and creates a mirror image. Then there is pictorial calligraphy, or calligrams, which uses text in the shape of a bird, lion, horse, fish or tree, and also things such as swords, ships and mosques. There are instances of Quranic verse written to look like a mosque complete with minarets. Spacing between words and lines tend to overflow, allowing a creative freedom and flexibility, and distinctive style for each calligrapher.

Calligraphy is important in Islam as it was God’s word that was initially conveyed to Muhammad orally and then written down by his companions. The Quran says that this document was written in “elegantly proportioned script” on “spotless sheets of paper” and is “beautiful” and “unsurpassed”. Due to its religious significance, Islamic calligraphy has continued as an important art form, whereas the significance of calligraphy using Roman and other alphabets has dwindled.

Today, Islamic calligraphy is used on coins, paper money, books, newspaper and magazine headlines, advertising signs, and posters. Calligraphers use a special pen called a qalam, which is made of dried reed. Calligraphy represents unity, power and beauty throughout the Islamic world.

Here is the second of four articles on Islam I wrote some time ago and published to the Helium writing site (now gone). Islam is a religion of peace and it seems that the views and actions of the terrorists are the complete opposite of this. I’m an atheist, by the way …

Muhammad was a prophet, warrior, businessman, statesman, orator and reformer, among other things. This article is about Muhammad as a reformer. Pre-Islamic Arabia was dominated by tribal fighting, tribal laws, murder, cruelty, exploitation, theft, adultery, infanticide, false contracts, usury, and few rights for women and children. The Constitution of Medina, or Charter of Medina, written by Muhammad in 622 CE, was in the form of an agreement between himself and the Yathrib tribes to stop their fighting and allow a series of reforms, including various rights and responsibilities, to apply to Muslims, Jews and pagans.

The constitution involved sweeping reforms that reads more like something from nineteenth or early twentieth century western society than from the seventh century. Under the charter, divine law overrode customary law, women and children were given rights, a system of law and order was put in place, religious freedoms were granted, aristocratic privilege was denounced, judicial and taxation systems were introduced, and there were new business regulations.

Muhammad condemned the inferior status of women and children in society and introduced many reforms in this area, including to marriage, divorce, inheritance, education, female infanticide, social security for women and her children, family values, and so on. The lack of limitations on males to marry or divorce was changed to the concept of restricted polygamy. A dowry, which had previously been given to the bride’s father, was retained by the woman as her personal property. Marriage itself became a contract, with the usual rules of offer and acceptance, rather than just a status symbol for the man. A woman’s consent was needed before there was a marriage contract.

Inheritance had previously been restricted to males. Muhammad changed this and gave women inheritance rights. Women became the legal owners of assets they brought into the family and of those resulting from their work. They were maintained financially while married and for a certain period after divorce. Before Muhammad, women were part of a man’s property, could not own property themselves, and any inheritance went straight to the man’s sons.

Under his reforms, children were no longer the property of their father’s. Muhammad gave them the right to have food, clothing and shelter, to be loved, to receive an education, and to be provided for in an inheritance. Siblings were to be treated equally. Female infanticide was outlawed. Adoption was replaced with the concept that people had to regard children of unknown origin in the same way as family members. A man was forbidden to have sexual relations with his mother or sister, something that occurred in pre-Islamic times. As an orphan himself, Muhammad declared that orphans were to be treated well.

Another important reform related to slavery. Muhammad ensured that a person had the right to be free, except in a few circumstances. While slavery was still allowed, it was regulated. Slaves had legal status and were given certain rights. They had to be treated kindly, in much the same way as other disadvantaged members of society. Slaves could receive alms or earn money and be released from slavery, which was something recommended by Muhammad. War captives received food and clothing either from the government or from the person who held them.

Equality was emphasized. Important positions within society were open to all comers instead of being restricted to the aristocracy, and value was placed on all individuals. All members of society were expected to be committed to and participate in the reforms. Feuding tribes were brought together. Monotheism was introduced to replace the previous multitude of gods. Emphasis was placed on piety and humility. People were expected to follow God rather than ancestral traditions or trying to achieve fame.

Economic reforms revolved around the economics of poverty. Muhammad was keen to see the poor given a better deal. Instead of paupers having to borrow at high rates of interest and suffer even more, the well-off were to provide alms to the needy, regardless of whether the parties knew each other. Goods were to be circulated, and purified, via charity. This was done without taxes or fees, buildings or profit. It was also to be done on a voluntary basis. Today we have elaborate taxation and social security systems to achieve the same thing.

Public construction occurred on a wide scale. Muhammad built wells and canals for the general public. By limiting the use of land and practicing urban planning, he made sure that resources were not over-utilized, thereby preserving the environment. He is regarded as a pioneer in environmentalism.

On the political front, Muhammad observed the warring tribes and the persecution. A series of conquests made the new Islamic state the region’s dominant power, although little was destroyed in the process. Muhammad’s reforms had resulted in greater tolerance towards those of other faiths. Christians were tolerated and, while they could only practice in private, they weren’t subjected to persecution. In fact, Jews and Christians enjoyed greater religious freedom than before.

In summary, Muhammad took a brutal tribal system where most people had few rights and converted it into an egalitarian society where everyone was given an opportunity, from women and children to slaves, the poor, and even those of other faiths.